Why Weren't Ancient African Cities Built Along The Coast?

Profile photo for Jerry Kofi Adonu Jerry Kofi Adonu · Follow I love history, culture, geography and languages.Feb 26 Why did ancient African empires not build their cities by the coast? Is there any record of a great African coastal city? Why did ancient African empires not build their cities by the coast? Is there any record of a great African coastal city? The main reason why ancient African cities where not usually located on the coast has to do with the fact that cities has this weird tendency of thriving where certain conditions combined are available. Also cities, all over the world, had developed along trade routes and Africa is no exception. And as trade routes too have their weird tendencies (in this case the weird tendency is to link two points in a geographical area), cities developed along trade routes… Where sea trade is a thing (think about the Swahili City States) you will find important cities along the coast. Anyway if you want to learn about an historical African city built on the coast I'll pick the impressive city of Kilwa-Kiswaini and Songo Mnara a UNESCO Heritage Site: Outstanding Universal Value Brief synthesis Located on two islands close to each other just off the Tanzanian coast about 300km south of Dar es Salaam are the remains of two port cites, Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara. The larger, Kilwa Kisiwani, was occupied from the 9th to the 19th century and reached its peak of prosperity in the13th and 14th centuries. In 1331-1332, the great traveler, Ibn Battouta made a stop here and described Kilwa as one of the most beautiful cities of the world. Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara were Swahili trading cities and their prosperity was based on control of Indian Ocean trade with Arabia, India and China, particularly between the 13th and 16th centuries, when gold and ivory from the hinterland was traded for silver, carnelians, perfumes, Persian faience and Chinese porcelain. Kilwa Kisiwani minted its own currency in the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the Portuguese established a fort on Kilwa Kisiwani and the decline of the two islands began. The remains of Kilwa Kisiwani cover much of the island with many parts of the city still unexcavated. The substantial standing ruins, built of coral and lime mortar, include the Great Mosque constructed in the 11th century and considerably enlarged in the 13th century, and roofed entirely with domes and vaults, some decorated with embedded Chinese porcelain; the palace Husuni Kubwa built between c1310 and 1333 with its large octagonal bathing pool; Husuni Ndogo, numerous mosques, the Gereza (prison) constructed on the ruins of the Portuguese fort and an entire urban complex with houses, public squares, burial grounds, etc. The ruins of Songo Mnara, at the northern end of the island, consist of the remains of five mosques, a palace complex, and some thirty-three domestic dwellings constructed of coral stones and wood within enclosing walls. The islands of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara bear exceptional testimony to the expansion of Swahili coastal culture, the lslamisation of East Africa and the extraordinarily extensive and prosperous Indian Ocean trade from the medieval period up to the modern era. Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara The remains of two great East African ports admired by early European explorers are situated on two small islands near the coast. From the 13th to the 16th century, the merchants of Kilwa dealt in gold, silver, ... https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/144/#:~:text=The%20islands%20of%20Kilwa%20Kisiwani,up%20to%20the%20modern%20era. . …and let's don't forget that Kilwa-Kiswaini and Songo Mnara were not just an exception to the rule, other cities, today associated with tourism, like Mombasa, Malindi, Zanzibar and Sofala among others shared the same peculiarities and were engaged in the same profitable Indian Ocean Trade Networks. So if there is any reason for which there are (if it's even the case as this aspect is not at all unique to the African Continent) a lower figure of important historical African cities located on the coast this has to do with profitability of sea trade, and the only really profitable sea trade was the Indian Ocean one, at least until the Europeans managed to create another one on the Atlantic Ocean… 261K views View 1,039 upvotes View 20 sharesAnswer requested by Kizito Okokhere 1 of 19 answers